Primary Debrief
Wisconsin is having a historic state legislative election. After more than a decade, severely gerrymandered maps were struck down by the state Supreme Court and replaced with fairer ones. The legislature is finally primed for likely the biggest political swing in our state's history.
This is playing out in many state senators and assembly representatives being written out of their seats, or moving into ones they feel are more winnable. This big shuffle also creates open seats, which means very exciting opportunities for new candidates, especially activists seeking to carry their efforts forward in elected office.
Before the primary, we reached out to Milwaukee’s more populist candidates and introduced them to our readers, as well as covering the vicious attack against incumbent populist Ryan Clancy by pro-genocide Zionists and pro-police reactionaries in the Democratic establishment.
We are excited about what the future holds. Whether its Ryan Clancy’s defense of his seat and Wisconsin Assembly’s socialist caucus, to Nate Kieso’s near victory in a three way race, to Deisy Espana and Amillia Heredia’s raising issues and elevating unheard residents, each of them ran hard and made a difference.
Now that the primary has passed, we do not want their voices and views lost in the coming fight for a blue state legislature. To that end, we present these statements from Milwaukee populist candidates!
RYAN CLANCY:
“Wisconsin’s future is bright. This summer, I got to witness and provide some small measure of support to some of the most inspiring campaigns I’ve ever seen. And these weren’t just principled, working-class campaigns, but principled, working-class candidates. I’m beyond proud of each of them.
Not all of them beat their primary opponents, but all of them - from España to Flood to Heredia to Kieso to Pearson to Phelps to Williford and more - are the future of the left. I can’t wait to see what comes next for them and to gather the community around us to support it.”
DEISY ESPAÑA:
“While we took a tough loss, It's important to risk losing an election if it means staying true to our values, as this integrity strengthens our movement. A loss only builds resilience and commitment within our community. We'll keep organizing to ensure people know they deserve more than representatives who are just there to collect a paycheck. We are allowed to want better and have better, and our continued efforts will make that a reality. In this race we were able to upset the establishment and make it clear that we’re ready for progressive policies. My generation, in particular, is determined to have representatives who truly reflect our communities. We understand that challenging the status quo is essential if we want to see real change. Our persistence paid off, and we’ve proven that we won’t stop until our voices are heard and our needs are met. We’ll see you again at the polls in 2 years but in the meantime we will organize, mobilize, and keep making noise.”
AMILLIA HEREDIA:
“I am so thankful to all my supporters and people who believed in my campaign and my vision for District 11. Losing the election doesn’t mean the problems went away, and the work still needs to be done. This is just the beginning of my journey and I’m so honored to have met so many of you and want to uplift the people that reinforced both me and holistic child advocacy. The children of Milwaukee County and the village it takes to empower them still need your support and I promise to continue this work with accountability, compassion, and through a transformative lens. Next steps will be me laying the groundwork for my campaign intentions to come into fruition in the community, including starting my non-profit organization. Upholding grassroots strategies will always be important to me, so I’ll also be actively supporting any like minded candidates that made it through the primary, along with volunteering at various organizations I had the honor of meeting on this journey. I still have five jobs, I’m still writing my thesis, and I'm still a CASA Volunteer. I’m here to stay and see this work through.”
NATE KIESO:
“To start off, I want to congratulate Angelito Tenorio as the Democratic nominee in the race to represent Assembly District 14. West Allis is his hometown, he is a bona fide progressive, and I have supported him in the past. I look forward to seeing him defeat the truly vile Jim Engstrand in the general election and faithfully represent our community in Madison. While I believe we need more people active within the labor movement in government, I do not have reservations about Angelito’s candidacy as I would have had my other opponent won.
Brady Coulthard was truly a case of the party picking a candidate, rather than the voters. His connections to the district were tenuous, his platform was ever shifting, and his base of support came almost solely from the local Party. As a social worker, I try my best to assume that people are acting in good faith and with the best intentions; that was my assumption before meeting Coulthard. It was perhaps naïve of me to apply social work principles to electoral politics – I quickly realized that good faith and best intentions were not in play with regards to my opponent. I expected there would be a competitive primary, so I agreed to meet with him to talk about the race. In that first meeting Coulthard urged me to drop out, implied that I did not know what I was doing and said that he did not owe me any favors. I stated that I still intended to run and that one of us would need to earn the nomination. That meeting was characteristic of Coulthard’s campaign – he leaned heavily into who he knew and not who he is, the nomination was something he deserved and not something to be earned, and, worst of all, he treated the district merely as a means to an end. Had Angelito began his campaign earlier, I might not have continued my campaign, but he would not announce until weeks later and I could not let someone as incredibly cynical as Coulthard win by default.
Of course I would have preferred winning the election myself; less than 2% of legislators in statehouses across the country are in the working-class and frequently Democratic elected officials quickly betray their promises to the labor movement, so my campaign was a necessary one. However, I am pleased with the results. Without name recognition, without having ever run for office before, and without being hand-picked by the local Party, I made a strong second-place finish. Also, a real progressive with roots in our community won the election and I am eager to put in the work to send Angelito Tenorio to Madison this Fall.”
